Apparel shirt-collar supporter.



No. 653,800. Patented luly I7, |900.

E. B. GDULD.

APPAREL SHIRT cuLLAR SUPPIJBTEB.

(Application led Apr. 24, 1900.)

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l l ww u: nofws mns co. Pwcnuumor. WASHINGTON. u c4 NITE@ STATES EDWARD ROLLIN GULD, OF SPOKANE, VASHINGTON.

APPAREL SHIRT-QOLLR SUPPORTER.

SPECIFICATION 'forming' part of Letters .Patent No. 653,800, dated July 17, 1900."

Application filed April 24, 1900.

To all whom it' may concern:

Be it known that I, EDWARD RoLLIN GOULD, a citizen of the United States, residing at Spokane, in the county of Spokane and State of Washington, have invented certain.

new and useful Improvements in Collar-Stiffeners, of which the following is a specification.

The ordinary stiffener composed of a single piece of stiff flexible material adapted to be placed beneath a shirt-collar composed of soft cotton or woolen fabric for the purposev of supporting the same and enabling it toretain its shape is objectionable for the following reasons: To secure a satisfactory result, the stiener must be of proper size to fit the collar, in order that the latter may set smoothly about the neck of the wearer. When, however, the collar is washed, it will shrink from a half-inch to an inch, dependfM ing upon the nature of the fabric of which it is composed, when it will be found that the unshrinkable stiffener will be too long for the collar, and consequently of no further use, as it will not conform to the changing proportions of the collar caused by shrinkage from continued launderings. My invention has for its object to overcome this difficulty and to provide a collar-stiffener which can be adjusted to correspond with the varying dimensions of a collar due to its shrinkage; and my invention consists in a collar-stiffener composed of connected overlapping pieces or sections of stiff iiexible material adapted to slide the one upon the other in such manner that the dimensions of the stiifener may be made to correspond to the changing length of a collar, as hereinafter more fully described; and my invention also consists in other novel features and details of construction, as hereinafter described and specifically claimed.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a view of the inner side of a turn-down collar having my improved stiffener applied thereto. Fig. 2 is aview of the stiffenerdetached from the collar. Fig. 3 is a tranverse section on the line 3 3 of Fig. 1. Fig. llis an upper edge View of the stiffener. Fig. 5 is a view of a modified form of my stiifener adapted to be applied to the turnedown portion only of the collar.

Serial No. 14,186. (No model.)

In the said drawingmA representsa shirtcollar composed of soft cotton or woolen fabric and provided on itsinner side with pockets a b, into which are slipped the corners of a stiffener B, composed of celluloid or other suitable flexible stiff or stiffene materiah The stiffener shown in Fig. 1, 2, 3, and 4: is composed of a portion 10, which lies against the inner side of the portion 12 of the collar, which is to be turned over on the neck of wearer, and a portion 14, which` lies on the neckband 15 of the collar, the two portions 1014 of the stiffener being connected together by a longitudinal eXible joint 1G, formed by stitching a narrow strip of thin flexible fabric to the adjoining edges of said portions 10 14, said longitudinal joint 16 enabling the portion 12 of the collar to be turned over on the neck of the wearer, as required. The portion 1li is cut awayat the center of its outer edge, forming an oblong notch, over which is secured a piece of soft cloth c, having a buttonhole d, through which may pass the button on the back of the shirt which holds is to be applied, as shown by dotted lines in f Fig. 2. The stiffener can thus when inserted within the corner-pockets a b lie perfectly flat on the collar, so that when the latter is Worn it will be properly supported Without wrinkles, enabling it to retain its shape and present a neat and dressy appearance.

ln Fig. 5 I have shown a stiffener C, made without a longitudinal joint and adapted to be applied to the turn-over portion only of a collar, said collar being shown in dotted lines. The stiffener C is composed of only two parts or sections ef, which lap each other and are connected by means of rivets and slots g 71., which permit of the movement of the two sections upon each other in alongitudinal direction, whereby the same beneficial result is obtained as in the stiffener first described.

ICO

It is obvious that my improved stiffener may be composed of two connected overlapping sections or of any desired number of adj ustably-connected sections, as may be found convenient Yor desirable, Without departing from the spirit of my invention, and that my stiiener may be used in connection with a collar forming a part of a shirt or With a collar entirely separate therefrom, and that it may be held in place by means of corner-pockets, as shown, or by means of buttons or any other suitable fastening devices.

Instead of forming the joint 16 between the two portions lO 14 of the stitiener by stitching to their adjacent edges a narrow strip of thin iiexible fabric s aid portions may have between them ailexible joint formed in any other suitable manner Which will enable the portion 12 of the collar to be turned over on the neck of the wearer.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

l. An adjustable collar-stiffener, composed of connected overlapping sections of stiff flexible material adapted to slide the one upon the other, substantially as described.

2. A longitudinally-adjustable collar-stiffener, consisting of overlapping portions of stiff tlexible material having .rivet-and-slot connections and adapted to slide the one upon the other, substantially as described.

3. Alongitudinally-adjustable collar-st iener, composed of two portions of sti ilexible material connected together by a longitudinal exible joint and adapted to lie respectively against the turn-over portion of the collar and its neckband, the portion which lies against the turn-over portion of the collar being,` provided at its ends With extensionpieces slidably connected with the main portion, substantially as described.

4. The combination with a shirt-collar, of a longitudinallyadjustable stiffener composed of connected overlapping sections of stiff flexible material adapted to slide the one upon the other, and means for securing the stiener to the inner side of the collar, substantially as described.

Witness my hand this 16th day of April, A. D. 1900. A

lEDWARD ROLLN GOULD.

In presence of- FRANKLIN BRUYAM HILTON, H. C. H'AYWARD. 

